Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Chattopadhyay Naidu was an Indian political activist and poet. She was an important figure in India’s struggle for independence from colonial rule. Her work as a poet earned her the sobriquet ‘Nightingale of India’ by Mahatma Gandhi. She later became the Governor of the United Provinces in 1947.

About Sarojini Naidu in brief

Summary Sarojini NaiduSarojini Chattopadhyay Naidu was an Indian political activist and poet. A proponent of civil rights, women’s emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she was an important figure in India’s struggle for independence from colonial rule. Her work as a poet earned her the sobriquet ‘Nightingale of India’ by Mahatma Gandhi. She was called ‘Bharat Kokila’ by Rabindranath Tagore. Her poetry includes both children’s poems and others written on more serious themes including patriotism, romance, and tragedy. She later became the Governor of the United Provinces in 1947, becoming the first woman to hold the office of Governor in the Dominion of India. She died of a cardiac arrest on 2 March 1949. Her daughter Padmaja also joined the independence movement and was part of the Quit India Movement. Sarojini met Paidipati Govindarajulu NaidU – a physician, at the age of 19, after finishing her studies, she married him.

At that time, Inter-caste marriages were not as common as they are today, but both their families approved their marriage. She had five children with him. Her brother Virendranath was a revolutionary, and another brother Harindranth was a poet, a dramatist, and an actor. Her father, Aghorenath Chattopdhyay, with a doctorate of Science from Edinburgh University, settled in Hyderabad, where he administered Hyderabad college, which later became Nizam College. She became a part of Indian nationalist movement and became a follower of Mahatman Gandhi and his idea of swaraj. She joined the Indian independence movement in the wake of partition of Bengal in 1905. She soon met other such leaders as Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Rabindra Tagore, Mahatmah Gandhi and others. She also helped to establish the Women’s Indian Association in 1917.